Mark Gronowski hopes to be the quarterback Iowa fans have been waiting for. Gronowski joined the Iowa program after leading South Dakota State to a pair of FCS national titles and was named the national player-of-the-year in 2023. He inherits an Iowa offense that led the Big Ten in rushing in conference play but finished next to last in passing in 2024.
“Personally, I love the pressure and you have to look at it as an opportunity”, said Gronowski. “Everyone in the community and on the team has been looking for that QB success and that offensive success. We have a lot of great guys and a lot of great weapons and we have the opportunity to do that.”
During the last four seasons the Hawkeyes have averaged nine wins and played in the Big Ten championship game twice. That stretch has also featured a string of injuries and subpar play at quarterback and Iowa has never finished higher than 12th in passing offense in the conference.
“To me ever since Spencer (Petras) got hurt out there in November of 2022 it has been a bumpy road”, said Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz. “It’s nobody’s fault it is just the way it has been. As I said last year my experience is if we have a good offensive line here and good quarterback play we have got a chance.”
Quality quarterback play will be a must for a Hawkeye team that hosts three teams that appeared in the college football playoffs last season and among their road games are trips to USC, Wisconsin and Iowa State. They open at home August 30th against the University of Albany.